Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Jaron stumbled into the kitchen, rubbing his bleary eyes. He'd tossed and turned all night, his mind spinning with thoughts of Keegan.

Did he drink the blood Jaron had left for him?

Or had he thrown it away, thinking Jaron a total lunatic?

It was a bit weird, wasn't it? Leaving someone a bottle of your own blood.

Jaron wished he could have seen Keegan's reaction.

If he did drink it, did he like it? Would he want more?

Jaron licked his lips, trying and failing not to lose himself in thoughts about what it might feel like to have the vampire bite him.

He'd never been into that kind of thing before, so what the hell?

He made himself sit down at the kitchen table. Malkira was already there, always up a little earlier than he was. When he joined her, she looked up from her tea, one eyebrow arched. "Well, don't you look like something the cat dragged in. Rough night?"

Jaron grunted, pouring himself a mug of strong coffee. "Couldn't sleep."

"Mmhmm." Malkira hummed. "And I'm sure it has nothing to do with whoever put that silly grin on your face the night of the festival. You looked like you'd found hidden treasure when you came home."

If Jaron had taken a sip of his coffee yet, he would have choked on it. Damn it. He could never hide anything from Malkira.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, focusing intently on his mug.

Malkira snorted. "Nothing, my left foot. I know that spaced out look, Jaron Tymera. You've got it bad for someone."

Jaron sighed, running a hand through his rumpled hair. "Fine, yes, I met someone. But it's…." Jaron trailed off. He was about to say that it was complicated, but was it, really?

Just because the guy he liked was a vampire?

And a seer?

Malkira patted his hand sympathetically. "Want to tell me about them?"

Not really, no.

Malkira wouldn't judge him the way his parents would, but she might tell him to be reasonable, and that was the last thing Jaron wanted to be.

Just as he opened his mouth to deflect her questions, a loud knock sounded at the front door. He leaped to his feet, grateful for the interruption.

"That'll be Ianair. We're heading to work together today."

Malkira shook her head, a small smile playing about her lips. "This conversation isn't over, you know. I expect details later!"

Jaron rolled his eyes fondly, grabbing his bag. "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you tonight, you nosy old witch."

He ducked out the door before Malkira could swat him with a dish towel. He grinned at Ianair. The other dragon shifter cocked an eyebrow at Jaron's rumpled appearance.

"Rough night?" Ianair asked as they took flight.

Jaron groaned. "Not you too! Malkira was about to interrogate me as well."

Ianair chuckled. "She's just looking out for you, man. So spill, what's got your tail in a twist? Meet a cute girl at the festival?"

"Guy, actually," Jaron said. "Vampire."

"Really?" Ianair whistled. "I'm sorry I was busy that night and couldn't see you embarrass yourself."

"What makes you think I embarrassed myself?"

"The fact that you're not bragging about your conquest."

Jaron scoffed. "Maybe I'm just being a gentleman and not kissing and telling."

By the Gods, he wanted to kiss Keegan. And then he wanted to do a lot more than that.

Ianair snorted. "Right. Because you're known for your discretion."

"I can be discreet!" Jaron protested. At Ianair's skeptical look, he sighed. "Fine, I didn't 'conquer' anything. We just talked." And then I gave him a piece of my hoard. Jaron kept that last thought to himself, feeling oddly protective of the private interaction he'd had with Keegan under the light of the fireworks.

"Uh huh. What's this vampire's name?"

Jaron hesitated. Was Ianair going to make fun of him?

Probably.

That was what best friends were for.

"Keegan," Jaron said finally. "His name is Keegan."

Ianair's brows rose. "The Rubyville seer? Really? Damn, Jaron, you really know how to pick them."

Jaron shrugged, trying to play it casual. "He's interesting."

"Interesting?" Ianair repeated, a sly grin spreading across his face. "Is that code for 'smoking hot'?"

Jaron rolled his eyes at his friend—even though he wasn't wrong. "Shut up. What about you and Ceska, huh? Has she finally made a move?"

It was Ianair's turn to look embarrassed. "What? No, we're just friends."

"Uh huh. Sure."

Ianair narrowed his eyes. "Don't try to change the subject. We're talking about you and your vampire crush. You think you got a chance with the guy?"

Jaron sighed, knowing Ianair wasn't going to let this go. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I hope so. He's…" Jaron paused and swallowed hard. "The dragon in me wants him, like, really wants him. I've never felt anything like that before."

Ianair shot him a look. "Damn, Jar, do you think…? Like, could he be your mate?"

Jaron didn't know what to think. He'd considered the possibility, but it felt too big a thing to happen to an unimportant dragon like him. Sure he was part of a prestigious clan, but only by accident. He was an adult now and he still couldn't produce fire. He wasn't like those royal dragons who'd found their mates.

"I don't know," he said out loud.

"How cool would it be if he was?" Ianair asked, sharing none of Jaron's hesitation. "Just imagine, you could shift into your true dragon form like King Nevin."

Jaron couldn't even process that thought. They called themselves shifters, but 99% of dragons these days could not shift. They'd retained their wings and tails, but their full draconic forms had been lost to them.

To most of them, anyway.

Recently both King Nevin and Prince Curren had managed to shift, and they credited this feat to their fated mates.

Miracles like that didn't happen to dragons like Jaron, though.

But if he found his mate…

Maybe he could finally breathe fire.

Maybe he could finally feel like he wasn't defective.

Before Jaron could voice any of that, though, they reached the building that housed the Mortal Rights Task Force, their place of work.

Inside, Ceska greeted them with a strained smile, her green hair pulled back into a messy bun.

"Hey guys, glad you're here. Things are a bit crazy this morning."

Jaron frowned, noticing the tense atmosphere in the office. Everyone seemed to be rushing around, talking in hushed, urgent tones. "What's going on?"

Before Ceska could answer, Apollo's voice rang out across the room. "Everyone, we need to have a team meeting. Now."

Jaron exchanged a worried glance with Ianair as they followed Ceska into the conference room. Apollo stood at the head of the table, his jaw clenched and his eyes hard.

"We have a situation," he said without preamble. "Two mortals have gone missing overnight. A young woman named Holly Meadows and a middle-aged man named Trevor Bricks. Finding them is our top priority." Images of the two appeared on a screen behind him as he spoke.

Jaron's stomach clenched. Mortals going missing again? He'd thought they'd finally put a stop to the blood-slave trade in the area. No wonder everyone was so tense. This was a major blow to the high of victory they'd been riding on since they'd brought the Nightfall coven to justice.

Was this some other vampire coven's doing?

Jaron worried his lower lip.

Keegan wouldn't have anything to do with it, would he? No, surely not. Keegan's coven was one of the 'good' covens. It was racist to think all vampires were involved in bad things.

Apollo continued, "Aside from these two mortals, three members of the paranormal community have also gone missing the same night."

A murmur of surprise and concern rippled through the room. Jaron leaned forward, his brow furrowed. "Wait, so it's not just mortals? Who else is missing?"

Apollo consulted his notes. "A wolf-shifter named Luca Fare, a dragon-shifter named Senna Kane, and a mage named Rowan Strifeburg." More images appeared on the screen.

Jaron sat back in his chair, his mind racing. This changed things. If paranormals were also disappearing, it was unlikely that this was a case of vampires abducting mortals for their blood. But then what was it? Who would target both mortals and paranormals?

For what reason?

"Do we have any leads?" Ianair asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

Apollo shook his head. "Not yet. But we're going to find them. I want everyone on this. Canvas the city, talk to your contacts, follow up on any and all leads. Figure out if there is a connection between the missing mortals and these specific paranormals. We're not resting until we figure out what's going on."

Jaron nodded, determined to make himself useful.

This was why he loved his job. He could actually help people here instead of just selling them shiny things in exchange for too much money.

He was about to sit down at his desk and look at all the information they had so far when Apollo approached him.

"I'm heading out to talk to some of the mortals' friends and family. Come with me?"

"Sure." Jaron followed Apollo, matching his boss's hurried pace. "Where are we going?"

"Holly, the missing woman, has two children. We're going to talk to the father."

A few hours earlier

Keegan paced his room, unable to sleep even though the sun would be up in a short hour. He knew where Jaron was going to be later today. It would be so easy to head out and meet him at Iskander's home. He'd even have the perfect excuse to be there—to support his friend's mate in their time of trouble.

That would be the decent thing to do, right?

At the same time, though, he didn't want to use Iskander like that. The man had never been anything but honest and straightforward with him. A true friend, even when Keegan hadn't necessarily deserved his kindness.

Deciding to be a good friend in return, Keegan picked up his phone and called Iskander.

Keegan took a deep breath as he waited for the other vampire to pick up. Iskander responded shortly after the third ring. "Keegan," he said, his voice even but strained. It sounded as if he expected Keegan to have more bad news for him. "Why are you calling?"

"To see how you're doing. I know about Holly," Keegan said, getting straight to the point. He hated how often his friends thought he existed to spread doom and gloom, but he couldn't fault them for it. The faster he dispersed the notion, the better. "How are you and Rhyme holding up?"

There was a pause, and Keegan could picture Iskander running a hand through his short black hair. "It's been rough," he admitted. "Rhyme is beside himself with worry. They fought so hard for their freedom."

Keegan grimaced. Holly and Rhyme had both been blood-slaves. For one of them to be kidnapped again after they'd finally escaped that life…

It was beyond cruel.

"I'm so sorry," he said softly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Actually," Iskander said, "Apollo will come by in the morning. He might have use for a seer's help in this case."

Keegan hesitated. He could look into the case, but he hated to use his powers that way, as if everything he saw was definite. When he wasn't well connected to the people whose futures he tried to see, the results were often lackluster. "I don't know," he said slowly. "I would need Altair's permission to aid an organization other than our coven with talents."

"Altair wouldn't have a problem with this," Iskander said. "This concerns Rhyme's children and Rhyme is part of our coven through me."

Iskander had a point there. It was a loose interpretation of coven, but not one Altair would squabble with.

Still, this all felt too convenient. As if fate really wanted him to meet Jaron today.

But what else could he do?

Deny his help to Iskander?

That wasn't really an option either.

"Okay," he said finally. "I'll come over."

"Thank you," Iskander said as if Keegan was doing this solely to help him and Rhyme. Keegan would do everything he could to support his friend and solve this mystery.

But there was another riddle he wanted to solve along the way.

The puzzle of his own fate.

Keegan arrived at Iskander's place just before the sun rose. Iskander had left the door ajar for him after he'd rung the bell downstairs, and as Keegan stepped through the doorway, he saw him sitting on the couch, his arm wrapped around Rhyme's shoulders. Rhyme looked pale and drawn, his eyes red-rimmed from crying.

A mug of tea sat on the small table in front of them and the scent of chamomille hung in the air.

Iskander looked at Keegan. "Thank you for coming."

Keegan nodded, moving to sit in a chair across from them. "Of course. I'm so sorry about Holly."

Rhyme lifted his head, his gaze meeting Keegan's. "Did you see this coming?" he asked, his voice hoarse. "With your future sight?"

Keegan wasn't sure if Rhyme meant to make his question sound like an accusation or if that was Keegan's own paranoia. Too often, people blamed him when things went wrong, as if he should have the absolute power to prevent every bad thing from happening ever.

"I didn't see anything about this," he said. It wasn't the full truth, because now that this was happening, a few things he'd seen started to make sense. Disconnected visions he hadn't been able to piece together before.

Sometimes he connected the dots too late to warn anyone.

Rhyme scowled. "It's not fair," he complained angrily. "Why Holly? What did she do to deserve this?"

Keegan wished he had an answer, but he didn't. He didn't know Holly, but he was sure the mortal hadn't done anything that warranted this kind of fate. "I promise," he said, "I'll do everything in my power to make sure that your friend and the others are found and brought home safely."

Rhyme nodded grimly.

They talked for a little longer, Keegan doing his best to reassure Rhyme and Iskander that he would use his powers to figure out who was behind this.

Eventually, Iskander convinced Rhyme to settle down to sleep for an hour or two before Apollo would arrive and then he and Keegan were alone.

"It's a damn shame," Iskander said, closing the door to the bedroom. "Rhyme's family only just got used to not being food anymore."

"I don't think Holly was taken by vampires."

"Are your visions telling you that?"

Keegan thought about how to respond to that. "I saw that it's not only mortals missing," he said eventually. "There are some victims who wouldn't fetch a high price among vampires."

Iskander glanced at the door to the bedroom, then back at Keegan. "How much have you really seen?"

Honestly?

Not much.

When he'd looked at the future, he'd been more interested in predicting Jaron's actions than he'd been in predicting the futures of those kidnapped. "I didn't see anyone die," he said to reassure Iskander.

It was the truth.

Even if the only reason he hadn't seen anyone die was because he hadn't looked.

The way Iskander regarded him, he knew Keegan was full of shit.

They'd been friends for too long, really.

Keegan held up his hands. "I'm sorry. I didn't focus on the things I should have focused on."

Iskander raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to say more.

Keegan blew out a breath. "I was following the path of someone else's actions when I came across Holly's kidnapping."

"Whose actions?"

Keegan hesitated. Should he tell Iskander…?

It felt imprudent to tell people about his mate when he didn't yet know if that connection was worth pursuing or not, but on the other hand… none of his friends were more reliable than Iskander. "Don't tell anyone," Keegan said, "but I was following the actions of my mate."

If Iskander was shocked to hear this, he didn't show it. His eyes widened only marginally. "You found your mate? And they're caught up in this?" His gaze narrowed. "Did they get kidnapped as well?"

"They didn't get kidnapped," Keegan said quickly. What a horrible thought. "He works with Apollo."

Iskander processed that. "Is he going to come here?"

"Yes," Keegan admitted. "Most probably."

Iskander nodded. By now, he must have understood that Keegan had come here to meet his mate, but he didn't seem upset about it. Then again, it wasn't in Iskander's nature to get upset about things like that.

What mattered to him was that Keegan had come, and that he'd offered his help.

"Could you not have met your mate elsewhere?" Iskander asked.

"It's complicated."

Iskander looked at him, not satisfied with that response.

Keegan sighed. If he was going to tell anyone about this, it might as well be Iskander. "I don't know yet if it would be wise for me to have a relationship with him."

"Does he have a problem with vampires?"

Keegan almost laughed at the question. That had become a theme in their little friend group, hadn't it? Mortal mates struggling with the concept of dating a vampire. "It's not that," Keegan said. "He's a dragon, and though he does work with Apollo, I don't get the feeling that he has an issue with the undead. He flirted with me pretty aggressively during the solstice fireworks."

"I'm sure dragons can recognize their mates."

Keegan nodded. He hadn't looked at it from that point of view, but Iskander was probably right. Jaron had latched on to him for a reason.

"What's the problem?" Iskander asked.

Keegan grimaced.

How to put it…?

"The very first vision I ever had was of my own death," Keegan said. "And he was in it."

Iskander stared at him. For once, Keegan had managed to surprise him.

It very nearly made Keegan want to smile. Alas, his situation was not a happy one. "He kills me in my vision," he unveiled the full truth.

Iskander's expression turned grim, his eyes narrowing as he pondered the information. "Can you change that future?" he asked. "You mentioned once that you can see different versions of the future. You said what you see is only possibilities."

Keegan was grateful that his friend immediately turned to problem-solving rather than indulging in pointless melodrama over Keegan's eventual fate. He didn't think he could have handled outrage or even sympathy.

Iskander didn't want to cry with him; Iskander wanted to help him. Keegan appreciated that.

Still, he had to shoot him down. "I've looked countless times, even before I knew my killer was going to be my mate. I've spent years trying to find a way around my own death. I was kinda upset by it, if you can imagine," Keegan said, only half-joking. "It seems to be fate, though."

Iskander didn't look like he was willing to accept this truth so easily. "There's got to be something," he insisted. "How do you die?"

"Stake through the heart," Keegan said simply.

Iskander shook his head. "Your mate stakes you? Why?"

If only I knew…

Keegan forced a smile. "I must deserve it. Maybe I left the door open and our dog ran away."

"You get a dog?"

"No." Keegan closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't know why he does it or what I do to force his hand." But Jaron had to have a good reason, because the dragon Keegan had met, the one he'd seen in all his other visions… He wasn't a killer. Keegan's throat constricted. "It's not like Jaron to hurt someone just because."

"Jaron," Iskander repeated the name. "That's him?"

"Yes. I know this all sounds insane, but I want to see him to see if…" Keegan trailed off, struggling to put his feelings into words. He wanted to be with his mate, to taste his blood again, to share all those happy moments his visions had teased him with… He just wasn't sure if it was the right choice to make, for either of them.

Iskander nodded as if he could relate without Keegan having to put his conflict into words. "I won't pretend to understand your abilities," he said, "but I know what it's like to find your mate. I know what it's like to try to stay away from them too."

Keegan got that. Iskander hadn't physically stayed away from his mate, but he'd certainly tried not to pressure him into a relationship while he was recovering from all the abuse he'd been though at the hands of other vampires.

"It's very difficult," Iskander said.

They both knew it was an understatement.

"I don't want to die," Keegan said.

"But you're going to take the risk." It wasn't a question.

"I guess that's why I'm here," Keegan confirmed. He wanted to say that he hadn't decided yet, but he couldn't deny Iskander's conclusion.

He most likely was going to take the risk.